How to open a PDF on Mac

The PDF format is one of the most popular formats in use today. PDF offers several advantages over other popular document formats and is commonly used for several different purposes. One of the most notable features of PDF is its ability to ensure that your content looks exactly the same everywhere, regardless of the device, OS, resolution, etc. This is what makes PDFs so uniquely good. Today, PDF documents are everywhere: CVs, agreements, legal cases, school assignments, bank e-statements, academic papers, invoices and many more. Today, it is very common to receive a file from someone and that file to be a PDF. If you want to open a PDF file on your Mac, there are a bunch of solutions out there.

The first one is Preview, the pre-installed application on your Mac that handles PDFs by default. Here is how it works:

1. Open Finder and pick the PDF to be opened.
2. Double click on it if Preview is set as the default PDF reader.

Or

3. Right click on the file > Open with > Preview.

That's it. You can now read and scroll through the contents of the PDF.

Three easy ways to open a PDF file on Mac

1. Download PDF Expert for free.
2. Launch Finder.app and locate the PDF file you want to open.
3. Right click on the file and select ‘Open With’.
4. Click on ‘PDF Expert’.

Or

1. Download PDF Expert for free
2. Open PDF Expert
3. Drag and drop a PDF file to the marked space
4. Or click on the blue ‘Select File’ button.

Do you have a situation where you need to interact with a PDF on your Mac? We suggest you coping by downloading a free trial of PDF Expert. Now you are ready to fill in forms (tax returns, surveys, school tests), create PDF documents from scratch, annotate articles, textbooks, etc., collaborate with your colleagues and classmates, and many, many more options. Have you ever run into a situation where you need to make quick edits in a PDF? May you want to annotate something on a PDF and convey your feedback to your colleagues? We suggest downloading a free trial of PDF Expert — our powerful and feature-rich PDF Editor for Mac. Now you are ready to fill in forms (tax returns, surveys, school tests), create PDF documents from scratch, annotate articles, textbooks, etc., collaborate with your colleagues and classmates, and many more such actions.

Are you still wondering about the best way to open a PDF file on your Mac? Here is what we recommend:

---

How to open a PDF file on Mac. Option #1

First, open Finder (the File Manager) on your Mac and browse to the PDF file you want to open and edit. Right click on the file to open a pop-up menu and choose ‘Open With’ and click on the PDF Expert option.

That’s it!

We recommend making PDF Expert the default app for PDF files on your Mac to eliminate extra steps when you want to open those files. Here’s how to set PDF Expert as the default app to open PDFs:

1. Launch Finder.app.
2. Find any PDF file and select it.
3. Press ‘Cmd + i’ or click on the File menu and select Get Info.
4. Expand Open with: section by clicking on the triangle on the left.
5. Select the Open with: menu, then choose PDF Expert.
6. Click the Change All... button.
7. You'll see a dialogue box asking you to confirm your choice. Click Continue.
8. Close the Get Info window.

You are welcome!

---

How to open PDF file. Option #2

Second option you have is to open PDF Expert first. Do you see the indicated space at the home page? You may drag and drop your PDF file there or click on the ‘choose file’ button and select the PDF file that you want to open in Finder.

---

Opening PDF file on Mac. Option #3

Of course, there is the “classy” way to open a PDF file using PDF Expert. Click on ‘File’ in the upper menu-bar, then click ‘open’ and select needed PDF file. Or just use the key shortcut ⌘O.

You may choose the option that suits you best, and the result will always be the same: high-end service that makes your day-to-day work with PDF files laidback but reliable and secure.

Try it! Get your free trial or buy PDF Expert right now!